Animal traps are commonly used as a passive means of catching animals in their natural environment. Traps are most effective when they are inconspicuously positioned on the ground near the path of the animal being sought. A trap is usually anchored or tethered to a fixed object to reduce the chance that the trap will be moved and lost. If a trap is not anchored or tethered, a trapped animal may drag the trap to a remote location resulting in loss of the trap and escape of the animal.
A problem with these traps is that they may not be stable when set. Although care may be taken to pack dirt around the trap to stabilize the trap, in cold weather, when the dirt is frozen, it doesn't pack well. Further, if the dirt shrinks as it dries, expands when it gets wet, or thaws, the dirt around the trap may become unstable. If a trap is not stable when it is set, an animal may feel the trap move if it steps on an edge of the trap. If the trap moves, even slightly, the animal may avoid the trap, or may dig up the trap. Some animals, such as coyotes may then seek out and dig up other traps with the same bait scent.
When setting a trap, dirt must be tightly packed around the jaws of the trap to ensure it doesn't move even the slightest. When ambient temperatures are above freezing the dirt packs quite well around the jaws to help with stability. The problem with stabilizing a trap with dirt is that once temperatures fall below freezing the dirt freezes the trap down, not allowing it to fire. Thus care must be taken when setting the trap to prevent it from rocking, shifting or moving in the trap bed, which significantly increases the time spent at each location attempting to prevent movement. A stable trap is easily the most important step in the capturing of game. Poor scent control fades away within a day, but an unstable trap will surely result in exposed, useless sets.